The present invention relates generally to a radial bearing assembly having a bearing body with a means of centering a shaft and, more particularly, to a bearing assembly allowing the shaft to be movable along the axis of the shaft and swivelable towards the central axis of the bearing assembly, as well as rotatable about the shaft axis, for mounting of gear shift rods in motor vehicles, for example.
For rotatable shafts and rods capable of axial movements and subjected to angular displacements, the bearing assembly is highly complicated. Radial bearings are known which feature balls drill-holed through the center which are slide-mounted in ball cups, a shaft or rod being shiftably slide-mounted in the central drill-hole. In this arrangement, the shaft is able to execute longitudinal and rotary movements and is swivelable with respect to the bearing body carrying the ball cups by rotating the through-drilled ball. The sliding bearing assembly is a well-functioning solution which is subject to very high wear, however, due to the sliding friction which is influenced among other things also by the material pairing and preloading employed.
The foregoing and other aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.